Lime in Agriculture.

King Country Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 94, 7 August 1908, Page 3

Lime in Agriculture.

The use of gypsum, or any other form of lime in agriculture, is not generally understood, and recently we have ihad several inquiries on the subject. Most plants contain appreciable quantities of lime. It has a great affinity for ammonia, and may be profitably spread in stables or manure heaps, from which the ammonia would otherwise evaporate. It holds the is the most valuable and elusive" element of the stable manure, in the form available for plants. On refractory soil lime very isatisfactorily improves the mechanical texture. This is the result of its chemical action on the constituents of the soil, which are thereby rendered more friable. Lime also hastens the decomposition of organic matter and inert nitrogenous compounds of the humus in the soil, and promotes the,formation of ammonia and nitrate compounds from the same. Lime promotes nitrifying ferments, and makes possible their existence in many cases that would be impossible without its presence. Lime is especially valuable if applied after a crop has been turned under for green manuring, as it acts chemically on the organic matter, and causes it to decompose rapidly. Lime is of great value where the land has an. acid reaction. This acidy or sourness of the soil is generally due to the decomposition of the remains of plants in the soil forming organic acids, and this condition is more noticable on wet than on dry soils. The acidity or sourness is rapidly corrected by lime, and the good effect of lime on sour grass land is very noticable. The easiest way to know when soiL requires lime is to obtain a few pieces of blue litmus paper (this can be obtained from almost any chemist for a few pence); place a piece of this paper in contact with the moist soil; if the soil is sour it will turn red, and the degree of acidity can be determined by the quickness ir which it changes colour and the iensity o the redness produced. Clayey soils can stand much more frequent and heavier applications of lime than light sandy soils, as the action tends to improve the mechanical conditions of such soil, the quantities applied varying according to the soils and the customs prevalent in various parts of the world, from about one ton per acre for light soils to as high as ten tons per acre in clay soils, such applications being made at intervals of from five to seven years.